


sweep me off my feet

by kissedbylightning



Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Explicit Language, Fluff, Formula 1, Formula One, Friendship/Love, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Romance, Sexual Tension, Shoe Shop AU, Slow Build, that is for sure not a thing but it is now
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-26
Updated: 2020-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:55:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27719180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kissedbylightning/pseuds/kissedbylightning
Summary: Sebastian Vettel works at a shoe shop while he’s studying for his Masters in English Literature. It’s just a job to earn money, he gets on well with his co workers and their customers are interesting enough to pass the hell of retail. After the busy summer period they hire Daniel Ricciardo, and Sebastian's carefully constructed world starts to drastically spin on its axis.Sebastian started his descent a little too eagerly for a man carrying two mugs of coffee but somehow managed to only spill a tiny bit onto his jeans. Shit. Today was apparently going to be a struggle and he found himself wishing he hadn’t stayed up until whatever stupid time it was finishing his reading. Oh well, can’t go back now. The best he could hope for was to just survive until 5:30pm when his shift would be over.The niche co-workers to friends to lovers fic that no one asked for.
Relationships: Daniel Ricciardo/Sebastian Vettel, Sebastian Vettel & Britta Roeske, Sebastian Vettel & Jenson Button
Comments: 10
Kudos: 29





	1. whatever it is it can’t be named.

**Author's Note:**

  * For [wancestroll (vaassassins)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/vaassassins/gifts).



> Inspired by a hilarious conversation with actual angel [wancestroll](https://archiveofourown.org/users/vaassassins/pseuds/wancestroll), a need to write and my own experiences working in a shoe shop. 
> 
> The title of this chapter comes from a song called [if i feel better](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ub36ffWAqgQ&ab_channel=WarnerMusicFrance)
> 
> This is my first published fic, so please be gentle. Feedback is welcomed! 
> 
> Finally, just a word to the wise and a quick disclaimer. Please do not post this anywhere outside of AO3, please do not send it to any drivers or friends of drivers. If you see the name of anyone you know or recognise, back up right now. This is just a harmless piece of fiction, nothing is real, everything is in my head. 
> 
> You can find me on tumblr - jedivszombie.

Sebastian was late. He knew he was late without looking at the clock on his dashboard. He knew he was late without catching a glimpse of his watch every time he turned the steering wheel. He definitely knew he was late by the time he reached his third consecutive red light. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, trying not to notice the obnoxious glow of the clock. _8:50._ Fuck. Sebastian willed the lights to turn green. They were going to kill him. He was the only car on the road and he had been stuck at this red light for what felt like an age. He was basically there if only this bloody light would change.

As if on cue the light changed to green, just as he was about to start cursing all traffic lights in the world, and Sebastian sped off. He navigated back to back roundabouts before turning off and driving down a narrow back alley, hidden down the back of a maze of buildings. He could smell the fresh bread that was wafting from the bakery and hear the clanging of deliveries being taken off their metal racks. Narrowly avoiding crashing into a parked delivery truck Sebastian had finally made it to his destination. He swung his car around the corner and parked it outside the grey fire door of the last building and glanced at his watch. _8:55._ Shit. 

Sebastian hurriedly clambered out of his car, grabbing his bag and locking it, as he jogged up to a grey fire door and pressed the white doorbell twice. Once he was satisfied that they knew he was there he ran past his car and sprinted up the stairs of the metal fire escape; skipping every other step. Reaching the top he felt the familiar mix of adrenaline and anxiety he always felt when he was cutting it fine. He let out a short puff of air, as he heard footsteps approaching the door. With a short bang the green door flung open and Sebastian sheepishly waved at the woman behind it. 

“Ah, how nice of you to join us this morning Sebastian.” She had her arms crossed but she was smirking and there was something playful in her expression. “You know I was just saying to Jenson that I was sure that Mark had said he was available today. But then you rang the bell and here we are." She studied him for a moment before she continued. “Give me one good reason I shouldn’t fire you right now?” 

Sebastian winced as she said his colleagues name and ran a hand through his hair. “Because the shop opens in about 4 minutes and even Mark couldn’t get down here that fast?” Britta laughed, satisfied with his answer, and stepped out of the door frame so he could come in. “Also, I’m going to sell you a shit load of shoes today.”

She wagged her finger at him in agreement. “Seb, Seb, Seb. What are we going to do with you, huh?” He shook his head as he entered the stockroom following her past the shelves of neatly stacked boxes, the pungent smell of cardboard punching him straight in the face. “I’m sure you will think of something. You always do.” They both laughed as they made their way into the staffroom and Sebastian headed straight to his locker. He put his bag in his locker and turned his phone on silent, shoving it into the back pocket of his jeans. He turned around and leaned against the lockers ready to start the day. Britta poured coffee into three mugs and handed two of them to Sebastian. “Come on. Jenson’s downstairs waiting to open the shop.”

They both left the staffroom, mugs in hand, walking past more shelves of boxes and out onto the upstairs shop floor. It was lit up and immaculate with all of the shoes neatly on display - ready for customers to wreak havoc. Without the usual background music piping through the speakers or the buzz of customers the whole place was eerie and felt slightly off kilter. Sebastian always found the shop unsettling when it was this silent, almost as if he were intruding. As if someone read his mind the music system started up, a telling sign that the shop was ready for business even if its workers were not. 

Britta and Sebastian turned the corner and walked down the stairs. Sebastian started his descent a little too eagerly for a man carrying two mugs of coffee but somehow managed to only spill a tiny bit onto his jeans. _Shit._ Today was apparently going to be a struggle and he found himself wishing he hadn’t stayed up until whatever stupid time it was finishing his reading. Oh well, can’t go back now. The best he could hope for was to just survive until 5:30pm when his shift would be over. He managed to get to the bottom of the stairs without further incidents and followed Britta to the left where the women’s stockroom started. 

“Jenson, look who I found lurking around on the fire escape.” Britta jerked her head back to Sebastian, as he stepped down into the stockroom and handed Jenson his coffee. Jenson accepted the mug with his right hand chuckling at Sebastian’s expression - half sheepish, half taking the piss. 

“As I live and breathe, if it isn’t our very own Sebastian Vettel. Gracing us yet again with his presence.” Jenson softly and playfully elbowed Sebastian in the ribs, just enough to produce a playful scowl and yelp from the younger man. Sebastian rolled his eyes, this was, after all, part of their routine. 

“Yeah, yeah. Don’t you have a shop to run?” Sebastian retorted, almost sticking his tongue out at his friend. Britta threw her hands up as if to say, now he cares! 

With a smile Jenson reached for the black book perched on the shelf behind him, ready to deliver the day’s game plan. “Okay so today we are working towards a pretty steady target of £1,500. It’s the three of us until midday and then we will be joined by Romain and then Jamie at 2pm. We also have our new member of the team joining us today. Sebastian, you and I are going to be working downstairs today and Britta will be upstairs in the Kids department.” He looked up for acknowledgement that everyone knew what they were doing. Sebastian nodded and Britta smiled. “Alright then guys, let’s get this show on the road!”

Sebastian laughed at Jenson’s corny turn of phrase, as they grabbed a tablet each from the bench behind them, walked out across the main shop floor and assumed their positions behind the tills. Britta unlocked the door and opened the shop up, letting in a cool September morning breeze. Rather predictably for a Wednesday morning the street outside was empty, save a few people wandering to work. The trio settled in for a boring first hour and soon attention turned back to Sebastian’s lateness. 

“So Britta, have you thought of how Sebastian can make up for being late, _again_?” Jenson’s piercing blue eyes sparkled with mischief, his grin reaching out across his whole face until it creased at his eyes. Sebastian made a face at him when he pointedly said ‘again’, giggling at his friend’s mock attempt to be formal. Jenson only referred to him as Sebastian when he was taking the piss or on the rare occasion that they were in the middle of a disagreement.

Britta laughed at the pair of them while she pretended to ponder the question. “Not quite. But one thing is for sure. Lunch is on Seb today.” She announced with glee, to which Sebastian promptly responded with a pout. “Nuh uh, young man. Do not pout at me!” Britta was faux sternly wagging her finger at a pouty Sebastian. “You are lucky you have me, Liébling.” She was smiling fondly at Sebastian now, as he grinned at the familiar sound of their shared language.

He knew she was right and that anyone else would have fired him a long time ago for his chronic lateness - no matter how good he was at his job. More than just being lucky to have her as a manager though, Sebastian knew he was lucky to have her in his life.

Britta was like an older sister to him, one of the only constants he had in his life. Their parents had been family friends and they had grown up together in Heppenheim, a lifetime ago now. They had always been as thick as thieves, ride or die for twenty years now.

After Sebastian’s life had imploded a few short years ago it was Britta who had flown to Germany for 6 weeks to help him through it. It had been Britta who suggested that he went to England with her for a little while and had booked the plane ticket before had time to talk himself out of it. She was the one who helped him see that the world held possibility again and that he didn’t need to be wrapped up in the oppressive pressure he had once known as the norm.

Britta knew Sebastian’s flaws like nobody else and she was aware that, as wonderful as he was, he had a penchant for getting distracted and running late to pretty much everything. Their close friends would always joke that Sebastian would show up late for his own funeral - Sebastian himself always had to bite back the response of _I almost was_.

“Of course lunch is on me, it’s the least I could do.” Sebastian half mockingly retorted. “Seriously guys it’s not like I wasn’t here for opening time.” Britta jokingly mimed strangling him for that response and turned to Jenson who was, as usual, highly amused by their back and forth. “You know I think we should go to Seb’s and change his clocks forward, so he always thinks that he’s already late before it happens. Maybe that would help.” Sebastian shot them both a look that shouted _don’t you dare_.

Before either of them had a chance to conspire any further a woman and her child skipped into the shop and made a beeline for the stairs. Britta saluted them as she turned on her heels and followed them up the stairs, ready to start the steady morning ritual. Sebastian moved out of their little corner and started his morning wander around the shop floor, absentmindedly straightening up shoes and making sure laces were tied properly, humming softly to the music escaping from the speakers. Jenson started checking what deliveries they were due to receive from the warehouse on the shop’s computer.

After about thirty or so minutes, and Sebastian finding any small job, which had led him to cleaning all the mirrors four times, Jenson broke the silence. “So what was the reason you were late today mate?” Jenson asked, his gaze still fixed on the computer.

“I stayed up a little too late doing some reading for an essay that’s due next week. It’s my fault really, I should know better than to try and burn the candle at both ends. A little too old for that these days.” Jenson shot Sebastian a dirty look, to say _if you’re old what does that make me?_ Sebastian grinned at the older man, wrinkling up his nose as he did - making a face that he knew Jenson found adorable.

Jenson sighed, shaking his head as he went back to the computer to check his work email. “You’re lucky you’re cute. You’re a bastard but you’re cute.” Sebastian shrugged with an almost angelic expression and Jenson wanted nothing more than to throw his pen at his colleague’s gorgeous head.

Sebastian was saved from being pelted with objects from the till by a small group of customers who filtered through the door and spread out across the shop. Two women shopping for wedding shoes roamed around the women’s section picking up every third shoe to inspect closely and calling Sebastian over to enquire about sizes and prices of an array of ridiculously high heels. Three men shopping for a funeral had made a beeline to the men’s section and grunted at the selection of dress shoes before picking the first two they saw and marching up to Jenson at the till. As Sebastian walked off the shop floor towards the women’s basement in the hunt for two shoes in four different sizes he thought to himself, and so it began.

The rest of the morning part of their shift was more of the same. A short burst of customers just browsing; followed by the occasional customer who wants to see five shoes in two different sizes; and, repeat. Predictably, around 11:30am the shop picked up and they were grateful when Romain bounced in fifteen minutes early grinning from ear to ear.

Jenson caught Romain just before he bounded up to the staffroom. “Romain!! Our saviour! How would you like to start a little bit early? We are a little bit slammed down here.” Jenson gestured around to the groups of customers occupying most of the floor space and Sebastian expertly darting between with shoeboxes and enthusiastic compliments. Romain smiled his earnest little grin, put one hand on Jenson’s shoulder and joyfully said, “No problem brother. I got you.” Jenson exhaled, as Romain threw his jacket into the opening of the women’s stockroom and grabbed a tablet. He winked at Jenson as he wandered over to some customers to see if they needed any help.

Sebastian was pleased to see Romain early tablet in hand helping them with the rush of customers during lunch. Sebastian was currently stuck in the middle of a teenager’s war with her mother over what would be classified as appropriate footwear for school and they had exhausted all of the selections that fit the mother’s brief. They had both tried to drag him into it three times now and each time he politely steered the conversation back to how it didn’t matter what the shoes looked like but how they felt. Two more rounds of this and he knew they would end up buying the second pair the teenager had tried on, but only after she had stomped around the shop floor in them a third time.

Romain walked past him on the way to the stockroom and had ended up getting dragged into the argument as well and he offered up the same advice Sebastian had, just this time with his oh-so charming French accent - which seemed to delight the family. They exchanged a knowing look and Romain squeezed his arm in solidarity as he sped off to the stockroom before any more customers roped him into something.

Sure enough about five minutes, and another stomp around the shop floor later, the teenager and her mother were at the till buying the second pair of black shoes out of the six they had tried on. Britta appeared at his shoulder to tell him they were both now on lunch, which of course he was buying. He smiled at Romain sympathetically as the affable Frenchman was in the middle of serving a gaggle of women and promised him something sweet from the shops.

Sebastian and Britta headed out to the deli down the road from the shop and placed their usual orders. They were greeted like family by the owner, Susie, who had their order pretty much memorised by now and spent the time they waited for their food getting grilled about their lives. Sebastian enjoyed the familiar patter of the conversation, even her cheeky attempts to pry into his personal life even though she knew it would be fruitless, and she admitted as much, which earned her a smile from Sebastian. He always preferred to discuss work and his studies over anything in his personal life even with people like Susie who were an extension of the little world he had curated. He had made quite a little life for himself here, a place where he could be content, where people just knew him as Seb the student who worked in a shoe shop. Nothing more, nothing less. No expectations, no pressure. Just space to be himself.

Susie winked at him as she handed them their food, with the worrying promise that one day she was going to figure him out. Sebastian shrugged as he took the food and flashed her a smile before he headed out with Britta back to the shop. Britta laughed as she informed him, not for the first time, that Susie either had a crush on him or wanted to set him up with someone else. Sebastian rolled his eyes and Britta winked at him wickedly - they both knew that Susie was not exactly Sebastian’s type. Plus, Sebastian liked his life as it was. Stable, content and full of love - something a past version of himself would have scoffed at. He had no interest in any kind of relationship at the moment outside of his little family.

When they got back to the shop Jamie had turned up and was manning the Kids department, beaming at them as called out a greeting to her before they disappeared into the stockroom and headed to the staffroom. They sat down at the table side by side and spent the remainder of their break eating and doing awful quizzes that Britta found on the internet. Today’s shocker was to find out what character in some terrible show Britta loved that Sebastian always slept through, apparently he was Rory - whatever that meant. He was still baffled at Britta’s delighted exclamations of, of course you’re a Rory, when Jenson’s head appeared beside his own and he felt his friend grab his shoulders. “What’s all this then?” Jenson’s charmingly English accent with Somerset undertones broke through the Germans giggling. Britta explained the quiz to him through the remaining mouthfuls of her sandwich. Forgetting he was there to turf them out of the staffroom and back to work, Jenson excitedly pulled up a chair beside Sebastian and started answering the questions and was delighted to find out he was a Jess. Sebastian had no idea what either of his friends were talking about but soaked up the delirious energy they were giving off.

“Alright you two, think you’ve had enough of a break for one lunch time!” Jenson playfully scolded them as they tidied up their food. Sebastian ruffled his short sandy hair as he walked past just to get back at him for earlier, giggling as Jenson yelped. “How’s it looking out there?” Britta interrupted before the two guys could get into a play fight. “It has quietened down on Adults so should be steady this afternoon. Jamie has been busier on Kids and is likely to get busier as school’s finish but she’s holding her own at the moment. Conversion is a little bit dodgy but it looks like we’re going to reach today’s target at least.” Britta nodded, satisfied that the day was more or less going to plan. Sebastian grabbed his tablet threatening to ruffle Jenson’s hair again with a devilish grin and headed back out to the shop floor.

He stopped off at the Kid’s department first to have a chat with Jamie, who greeted him with a beaming smile and a high five. She caught him up on her weekend, which had involved a half marathon, volunteering at a charity shop and a woodland rave. He loved Jamie and in the last six months she had been working there they had forged a big brother-little sister relationship. He admired the way she always sparkled and fizzed with this ridiculously contagious energy - and he always found himself coming away from their conversations feeling like he was at least ten years younger.

Sebastian looked at her half in horror and half in amazement that she managed to have energy to do all of that, party hard and still come to work looking as fresh as if she had stayed at home all weekend. Sebastian always managed to feel ever so slightly old when he listened to her adventures, his mind always reaching back to memories of a past so far away it almost belonged to another person. She laughed, as always, at his expression and told him that he didn’t need to act like such an old man. He was _only_ 33 after all, not 60. He smiled patting Jamie on her shoulder, she was fundamentally good and he cherished her for it.

She smiled up at him as she asked him what he had done to be in the doghouse today, her brown eyes shining up at him. He scratched at his beard with his left hand as he filled her in. She must have rolled her eyes about three times by the time he finished and she patted him on the arm in sympathy. She knew him too well to admonish him for something she knew he tried hard to control. Plus, no one was really mad at him - it was all just part of their natural rhythm.

With a grin he was off downstairs to join Romain on the empty shop floor. “Oh finally!” Romain exclaimed just as Sebastian’s foot reached the penultimate step. “Did you get lost on your way down? Jenson went upstairs like a hundred years ago!” Romain was stood beside the tills pouting, which Sebastian would have taken seriously had the shop floor been busy but as it stood there were absolutely no customers in sight and the hubbub of the street outside had subsided.

“Oh yes Romain, you are positively drowning in customers. I’m amazed you managed to survive on your own in the five minutes the shop was in your very capable hands.” Sebastian sidled up to his colleague and softly nudged his shoulder, as he grinned from ear to ear at the compliment. Romain was one to talk a lot of shit, and he had an air of theatre to his joking around, but was never one to really be truly mad. Sebastian knew that Romain was a compliment fishing little shit, and he loved him dearly for it. “So I heard you were late again.” Sebastian let out a short exhale and dramatically rolled his eyes.

He decided to change the subject. “So how are Sacha, Simon and Camille?” He grinned as Romain’s eyes lit up and a different sort of grin took over his face, betraying the deep laugh lines of a man who had found his bliss and chased it. Sebastian knew Romain too well to know he could never resist the chance to gush over his children - the man lived for his family. Sebastian listened attentively as Romain told him about Sacha’s new found love of tennis; Simon’s penchant for cooking with Marion; and, Camille’s adventures in fort building.

A handful of customers filed into the shop just as Romain was halfway through a story about Camille and Sacha trying to bake that culminated in a family food fight; spoiling their fun. The two men greeted the customers as they watched them browse around the shop. They stood back giving the customers space while Sebastian stifled giggles imagining the Grosjean family and their immaculate kitchen covered in egg, flour, sugar and whatever else they had used.

One of the customers in the women’s section caught Sebastian’s eye and waved the praline heel at him beckoning him over. Sebastian gave Romain a look that said _this customer is going to be fun_ before he walked over to them. Sebastian greeted them with his best customer dazzling smile, as he found out exactly what they were looking for. It turned out that this particular customer was after work shoes, new heels and boots - which was fun for him to check the stock using his tablet. He wasn’t going to complain though, if this woman bought even two pairs of shoes he would have passed his target for the day. So after about fifteen minutes of discussion and searching the tablet he found himself agreeing to bring up four different types of shoes for her to try on, with the assurance that if she didn’t like those he could bring out more options. Halfway through serving this customer another customer approached him, instead of walking the daunting few yards to where Romain was standing greeting other customers. She impatiently demanded he find her two shoes. She was adamant they were not on display but she had seen them recently in the shop. Armed only with a vague description of the shoes and with the knowledge that they were actually on display Sebastian managed to locate them on his tablet. His customer-dazzling smile never left his face, as he excused himself to find the shoes.

Sebastian headed into the women’s stockroom, tablet in hand with eight pairs of shoes added to the basket so he didn’t forget what he was looking for. He would for sure only be able to bring up five boxes, six at a push. As he jogged down into the basement, he found himself silently hoping the customers wouldn’t expect him to instantly bring out the shoes. He got to the bottom of the stairs and turned down the basement corridor, his footsteps echoing all around him as he walked. He turned the corner again this time into an open door that led to the labyrinth that was the women’s stockroom.

He decided to start with the easy shoes and work his way down the aisles of shelves from there. Four shoe boxes later and Sebastian found himself up a step ladder, tucked away towards the back of the maze, in search of an elusive pair of heeled boots with a ridiculous name. His already collected shoe boxes rested on the top step of the ladder as he repeated the size and name of the shoe, scanning the top stack of shoeboxes hoping they would reveal themselves.

He was so engrossed in his search for these mysterious shoes, rummaging around in boxes and reaching across to adjoining shelves, that he had not heard Jenson coming down the basement corridor nor had he heard an accompanying pair of footsteps. He also hadn’t heard them enter the stockroom and Jenson starting the tour explaining to his companion how the stockroom was organised and shelved. He was none the wiser that he had company in the basement, and Jenson had not yet clocked his friend.

Sebastian was on the top step of his ladder, muttering in German swear words to himself, about to liberate the shoebox he was after from the middle of a precariously balanced and stupidly tall tower of shoeboxes when he heard Jenson call out to him. “Hey Seb! This is Sebastian, he is one of our best…” Jenson was filling in his companion.

It made him jump a little to realise he was not alone in the stockroom, and in the process of doing so he managed to kick the shoeboxes off the top step of the ladder leaving them to tumble lid first onto the floor; landing upturned and creating a mini crime scene with a mess of tissue paper and shoes scattered on the floor. He had been halfway through extracting the illusive shoebox out from its precarious tower and his momentary shock and lapse of concentration led to him losing his grip and the shoebox falling, shoe connecting with his head as the lid jumped to the floor. He managed to notice what was happening just in time to hold back the tower from falling to the ground and somehow kept them all on the shelf. Fuck. Shit. Bollocks.

Slightly dazed and bewildered Sebastian turned around to see Jenson standing looking impressed at the mess Sebastian had managed to make as the 12 shoes lay scattered across the immediate vicinity. Jenson was unsuccessfully attempting to hold back a laugh, as he looked at Sebastian’s now dishevelled curly blonde hair and the red mark that was kissing his forehead. Although that red mark was about to be swallowed up by an embarrassed flush that had begun to work its way up his neck and face.

It was only then that Sebastian registered Jenson’s companion, who was grinning from ear to ear exposing great white teeth. Sebastian took a look at the owner of the grin: a mess of curly brown hair topped his head, his sides cut short; with a short dark brown beard covering the bottom half of his tanned face. Sebastian tried not to notice the thick neck protruding from the other man’s colourful patterned shirt, or the way that his already flushed face threatened to turn a deeper shade of red. Oh good, this must be the new guy. Sebastian was so over today.

“Jesus Seb, are you alright mate?” The stunned silence thick with Sebastian’s embarrassment was broken by Jenson’s concerned voice, as he leapt into action hurriedly gathering up shoes, lids and tissue paper. Sebastian started to get down from the step ladder, his mind covered in an embarrassed fog and the wishful thought that this was just a terrible nightmare. Just as he reached the bottom Jenson had hurried over to him and already had his hand framing Sebastian’s face, examining the red mark that would surely bloom into a nice bruise shortly.

Sebastian muttered an expletive before responding, “Never better mate. I found the shoe.” Jenson raised his eyebrows at his friend’s response as he absentmindedly traced the red mark on Sebastian’s forehead with his thumb. Now Sebastian was feeling newer kinds of embarrassment and discomfort, and he couldn’t help but think it was in part due to the new guy standing on the edge of the crime scene still grinning from ear to ear. This was not exactly how he wanted to form a first impression - being all thumbs was bad enough, to have his ex caressing his forehead was taking the piss just a little bit. Jenson stepped back and dropped his hand, looking back at their new coworker before turning back to Sebastian. “Sebastian, this is our new colleague Daniel.” Daniel stepped forward with a tanned hand outstretched to Sebastian, who was still recovering from whatever just happened. He remembered his manners just in time to shake Daniel’s hand, which he noticed was surprisingly soft and tried to ignore the sweatiness of his own pale hand.

Sebastian took care to try and not look too pathetic while he offered a meagre smile to his new colleague. “It’s nice to meet you Seb, but please call me Dan.” Daniel’s thick Australian accent hypnotising Sebastian enough to not notice the man refer to him by his nickname. “I-uh nice to meet you Dani-Dan.” Sebastian didn’t know what was wrong with him, but he knew he had to make a quick exit before anything could get worse.

With all the grace of an elephant Sebastian finished gathering up his scattered shoeboxes, forcing shoes and tissue paper back into their temporary homes, and with a quick nod he took off in the direction of the stairs. Leaving the men behind him to continue on with their tour, wishing the whole way that the basement floor had just eaten him whole. He ran back up the stairs, balancing the boxes as he went, thinking that he had been down there for at least an hour. Surprised to glance at his watch and discover it had only been about ten minutes.

He emerged from the stockroom and placed the various shoeboxes at his customers feet, taking care to lay them out a little nicer than he had when he collected them from the basement. He hoped nobody noticed how flushed he was, or the fact that he felt like he was soaking in anxious sweat. Could he have been more of a mess?

He made a mental note to not burn the candle at both ends before a shift again.


	2. time is hard to kill since i met you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for taking a week to update, the last week has been a little intense and this chapter proved to be harder to write than I had expected. But now it's here and it's a bit of a longer one. 
> 
> This chapter is brought to you by:
> 
> Sebastian’s wonderful apartment; Jenson meddling; Sebastian’s inability to be chill around Dan; the verbal appearance of an old foe; and, some pining. 
> 
> There will be second hand embarrassment, there will shoe shop shift shenanigans and there will be a healthy dose of confusion and pining. 
> 
> The chapter title comes from a song called [little numbers](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsyjS_vJfkw&ab_channel=groenlandrecords) it's a really cute and charming song that really fits the vibe of this chapter. 
> 
> I also just wanted to say a massive thank you if you read the last chapter and left comments or kudos, it was really lovely to see! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

Sebastian had practically shot out of the shop as soon as his shift ended, eager to escape the car crash performance of earlier. Somehow he had managed to finish the remaining two hours of his shift in a blur of embarrassed smiles directed at Daniel and had almost jumped on every customer that came his way. Taking any chance he could to nurse his now throbbing head and dented confidence. 

Jenson had tried to encourage Sebastian to take a beat after the flying shoebox incident, but he had just shrugged and thrown himself head first into whatever task would make the rest of his shift fly by. 

As soon as 5:30pm came round he had practically thrown his tablet back into the alcove of the women’s stockroom, half heartedly waved goodbye to everyone and sprinted up the stairs to the staffroom. Jamie had given him a weird look, as he had mumbled goodbye to her in the staffroom, grabbed his bag and practically ran down the fire escape to his car. 

The whole way home Sebastian had the unfortunate opportunity to replay the entire incident. The more he thought about it, the more he felt like an idiot. _Good going Sebastian. Now he thinks you’re a complete loser._ Sebastian wasn’t really sure why he cared so much about the terrible first impression he felt he made, after all Daniel was the new kid on the block, not Sebastian. He chalked it up to his desire to present himself as somewhat competent and capable. 

Sebastian finally pulled up to his building and managed to find a parking space on his street a few doors down from his apartment. He got out of his car, grabbed his backpack and shut the door. With a click of his car keys he locked his car and jammed the keys into his jeans pocket. 

He started walking down the street with the sun glinting off of the cars as he passed them by. A few cars, and a slight climb later, and he got to the front of his building. He unhooked the small iron gate as he made his way up the stone steps to the building’s front door. The tall detached red brick Victorian house stood at the top of a hill, the last of its row, boasting a racing green door. 

Sebastian had seen it three years prior, after he had been living with Britta for a year, and was taken with it straight away. It looked like it had character and like it was somewhere he would be able to call home, somewhat magnificent and understated at the same time. 

He had been looking at other apartments across the city but the bulk of them had been too modern, too impersonal and too void of any and all comfort. There was something about this older house and the small licks of ivy creeping up and around the front window that screamed home to him. 

He grabbed his keys from his jeans pocket once again and fumbled with them slightly, as he attempted to open the front door. He cursed, today he could apparently do nothing right and it was starting to get old. 

After a few moments of struggle he managed to unlock the green door and stepped inside the large entrance hall, complete with peeling sandy walls. He took a quick look at the building's shared message board to the left of the front door to make sure he hadn’t missed anything important. He walked down the star tiled floor towards the staircase and the mailboxes beneath them, darting underneath the stairs to see if he had received any post while he was at work. Seeing it was empty he emerged from under the stairwell and started to make his way up the stairs to his third floor apartment. 

He reached his front door, a shade of volcanic red he had painted shortly after he moved in, and managed to open it on the first try this time. He locked the door behind him, walked over to the grey cushioned bench in his hallway and sat down to take his shoes off. He placed his shoes on the shoe rack under the bench and walked down the hall to the second door on his left. 

He entered his bedroom, put his bag down beside his oak chest of drawers, and collapsed onto his double bed. He grabbed a pillow from above him and screamed into it. Sebastian was not good at not being in control, something he had been trying really hard to work on. He had felt out of control from the beginning of the day until the end of his shift and that never ended well. 

Sebastian lay on his bed wallowing for about thirty minutes before the growl from his stomach reminded him that he needed to eat something. 

He was halfway through making dinner when he received a text from Jenson asking if he was okay, which he ignored in favour of not burning his dinner.

By the time he had finished cooking, sat down at the table and had a look at his phone Jenson had text him three more times and called him twice. Sebastian rolled his eyes, he only got a knock to the face and had his pride mortally wounded. But he also knew that he had better reply to his friend before Jenson showed up at his doorstep.

He fired back a text, _All is fine now I’ve found my brain, think I left it at home today._ He took all of three mouthfuls of his dinner before his phone lit up and he saw Jenson’s response: _Try and bring it with you tomorrow! Hope your head doesn’t hurt too much._

Sebastian smiled at the hug emoticon Jenson punctuated his message with and finished eating his dinner. At least he wouldn’t have Jenson showing up at his door tonight to make him feel worse about the whole situation. 

Sebastian had spent the rest of the night in his study attempting to continue with his course readings to prepare for his seminar at the end of the week, but found the attempt pointless, and with a throbbing head he dragged himself down the hall to bed. 

He lay in bed trying not to replay his encounter with Daniel too much. Trying hard not to overanalyse every single idiotic element. Trying hard not to interpret Daniel’s wide grin as judgement that Sebastian was a loser. Trying hard to not think about how cool and effortless the other man had looked, and the confident way he had called him ‘Seb’. Trying not to think too hard about the fact that he would have to see Daniel again tomorrow. 

Eventually, Sebastian managed to exhaust himself with the effort of overthinking and dozed off to sleep. 

Sebastian woke up the next morning with his alarm. _6:30._ The events of the day before a distant memory. Through bleary eyes he reached over to his nightstand to turn his alarm off and then rolled onto his back to stare at the white ceiling. He was trying to work up the motivation to get out of bed and made a mental note of all of the things he needed to do. 

He rolled out of his bed ready to start his morning routine, as light started to stream in through his windows to the left of his bed. He could feel his head still aching slightly as he started his morning exercises - a habit from another life that he had never quite managed to shake. 

He continued the process of repeating a simplified version of his mental list like a mantra as he stretched to prepare for a short exercise routine. _Breakfast. Shower. Reading. Work. Home. Dinner._ He finished his last stretch and went onto his floor and got into the plank position to begin his exercises. As he worked out he felt like he was exhaling the ridiculousness of yesterday out and inhaling the promise of a new day. He concentrated on his set of plank-sit ups-press ups-lunges-squats, catching his breath in between sets. He always felt serene at this time in the morning, with nothing but his own breathing to keep him company, his mind focused on the exercises. 

He finished his last squat and rolled his shoulders back feeling more awake than he had before. Sebastian grabbed his phone and padded barefoot out of his room and turned right continuing down the hall into the main body of his apartment. He walked past his sofa, across his wooden herringbone floor, to the kitchen laid out across the back wall. He turned the radio on, as he passed the breakfast bar and set about making breakfast - bobbing along to the music as he made his cereal. He grabbed his bowl and sat down at the kitchen table, taking a banana from the fruit bowl to add to his breakfast. 

He scrolled through the news on his phone as he ate his cereal, taking particular care to ignore the Sports section. He read through articles about the latest set of crises in European Politics - disheartened to see that, yet again, Britain was at the forefront.

Feeling sufficiently up-to-date with the state of play in Europe he finished his breakfast. He quickly checked his University email inbox to make sure he hadn’t missed anything important from his lecturers or the department - scanned through an email blast about changed library opening times and flagged an email regarding an upcoming lecture. With his morning admin tasks completed he wandered back over to the kitchen and washed up his bowl and spoon. 

Sebastian stood at the sink for a minute just listening to the radio and enjoying the nostalgic sounds of a song from his childhood - he smiled to himself and allowed his mind to wander back to his childhood. He thought of his family and his parents and the trips they used to take to the marketplace. He soaked up the nostalgia, snapping out of it when the song ended, and with a bittersweet sigh he turned off the radio. He didn’t want to dwell too much on the past, always feeling like a stranger in his own memories. After all, what was done was done. Besides it felt like a lifetime ago now. 

Shrugging off these thoughts he wandered back out into the hall and opened the first door on his right. Still slightly sleepy, he rubbed his eyes as he opened the bathroom door and switched the extractor fan on. The bathroom shone as the sunlight shot through the glass block window on his right, sweeping across the white tiles in the walk-in shower and illuminated the soft blue-green walls. He walked up to the bathroom sink to start brushing his teeth, opening the mirror cabinet in front of him to get the toothpaste. As he closed the door he caught a look at himself in the mirror and froze for a second. 

He stepped closer to his reflection to make sure it wasn’t a trick of the light and then he felt his stomach tighten and drop. The red mark from yesterday had been replaced by a purplish bruise the size of a two pence piece. _Shit._ It was poking out from under a tuft of his dishevelled blonde hair right where the heel of the shoe and the edge of the box had collided with his head. It reached across his right temple like a discoloured plaster, framing the corner of his forehead.

The distant memory of the embarrassment from the day before came flooding back, almost as quickly as his cheeks flushed red, and he groaned. He had a shift later and he really did not want to relive the stockroom incident, but the bruise was dark and big enough to be visible and he knew it would spark conversation. 

He stared at his forehead in the mirror and considered covering it up with a plaster, but he knew that would just draw further attention to it. He puffed his cheeks out in annoyance at how stupid he was being. It was just a bruise, yesterday was just a minor blip, today was a new day. 

He took a deep breath and tried to keep the embarrassment at bay - resolving to do his best to act like nothing had happened. By the time he had finished brushing his teeth and had his shower Sebastian had managed to push any embarrassment he felt out of his mind, ready to start again. His mind already focused on getting in the frame of mind to study before work. 

After his shower he dried himself off and changed into a pair of clean black boxers, placing his towel on the heated rail to dry. He turned around to the sink and crouched down to open the cabinet under the sink. He took a few products out and started on his usual grooming routine - wincing slightly whenever he massaged his fingers across his bruise. He sighed as he saw his face in the mirror, his eyes drawn instantly to the bruise on his forehead, and tousled his hair a little bit to see if some of it could be put to use disguising the purple spot. 

He played with his hair until he was happy and walked out of the bathroom, turning the extractor fan off as he left, across to his bedroom. Once in his bedroom he opened his built in wardrobes to get ready for the rest of his day. He stared at his clothes for a few minutes before he picked out a pair of grey jeans from the trouser rack below him and a green and black flannel shirt from above him. He walked over to his bed and laid them out before he perched on the edge of his bed to put some socks on. He stood up to put his grey jeans on - he had to jump a little to make sure they went over his hips. He took his flannel shirt off of its hanger and shrugged it on, doing up his shirt buttons as he walked back to the wardrobe to put his empty hangers back. He looked at himself in his bedroom mirror, hoping to God that he was not going to make himself into a fool again today. 

Sebastian had spent the rest of the morning in his study, working on his reading for his seminar and making notes as he prepared answers to the questions his lecturer had set. Around 9:30am he had to stop and get ready to leave for his shift. He wandered back into the kitchen to fill up a water bottle and grab his leftovers for his lunch. He grabbed his bag from his bedroom before heading towards his front door. He sat on the grey cushioned bench, pulled out his work trainers from the shoe rack and laced them on. He grabbed his keys from the small key tray on his hall dresser beside the door and headed out of his apartment. He locked his red door and ambled down the staircase, ready to drive to work.

He was feeling good as he walked down the hill to his car, the morning sun shining on his back. He had managed to have a productive morning; he had slightly obscured the glowing bruise on his forehead; and, he was going to be on time. This good mood carried on while he was driving, he had managed to miss most of the traffic by having a shift that started at 10:30 and managed to avoid the red light sequencing from hell he had encountered the day before. He even had time to park in the cheapest car park and enjoyed a little walk through the town towards the shop. 

He waved to Susie as he passed the deli and caught her beaming at him. He clocked the street performers on the corner opposite the shop, which meant they were in for a few hours of guessing what songs they were supposed to be covering. He turned the corner outside the shop, taking a sneak peak through the window as he turned right to see if it was busy, and narrowly missed being accosted by someone selling insurance. He made it through the front doors of the shop unscathed, trying to dodge the few customers on the shop floor and waved at Esteban at the tills before disappearing up the stairs. 

Sebastian emerged at the top of the stairs to find a few customers milling around the Kid’s department. He caught Michael’s eye and nodded at his colleague, as the man struggled to wrangle two toddlers so he could measure their feet. Jamie winked at him as she came out of the stockroom across the floor and he waved in return. 

He headed through the stockroom to his left and made his way to the staffroom to put his bag down and kill some time before his shift started. He put his bag in his locker and sat down at the table, scrolling through his phone. He was about 15 minutes too early, which he knew was always a little dangerous - particularly if the shop was busy. Luckily for him the shop was quiet enough today. 

After a few minutes alone in the staffroom he was joined by Jenson and Lewis, who had similarly shown up early for his shift. Jenson plastered a wide eyed expression on his face, faking surprise at Sebastian being early, which earned a soft giggle from Lewis and the middle finger from Sebastian. 

“And a good morning to you too Seb!” Sebastian flashed Jenson a smile, as the other man sat down at the table on the chair opposite. Lewis sat down on the chair between them and shook his head. “This better not be what you two are gonna be like for the rest of the day. Because I cannot play mediator for the next 7 hours!” 

“Don’t worry your pretty little head Lewis, we will behave.” Sebastian winked at his friend, who buried his head in his hands in mock despair. Jenson’s eyes glittered with a hint of mischief. “Don’t worry Lewis. Sebastian won’t have much time to cause any mischief today.”

Sebastian shot Jenson a look. “Oh god. That sounds ominous Jenson, do I even want to know what you have planned?” A grin had grown on Jenson’s face and spread itself ear to ear, flashing his perfect white teeth. Sebastian knew that look. It was the look Jenson always had when he was plotting some kind of scheme. “Okay, deliver me the bad news then.” 

“As you know we have a new colleague and he needs to be trained. So, Britta and I decided that he would learn best from being paired up with you for the next few weeks, as he learns the ropes.” Jenson’s grin was still plastered on his face, voice cheery as he delivered the news to Sebastian. Sebastian felt his bruise throb and tried to quash the wave of pink that was threatening to invade his cheeks again. Lewis gave him a look that read, _dude are you alright?_ Jenson continued to look seriously pleased with himself. 

Before Sebastian could muster up any kind of response they heard an upbeat Australian accent entering the stockroom and heading their way. Daniel bounced into the staffroom. “Ah Dan! We were just talking about you actually.” Sebastian felt his face burning at Jenson’s remark and tried to subtly glare at his friend. Daniel wiggled an eyebrow at Jenson and beamed his trademark smile at the other men. 

“Alright, mates! I did wonder why my ears were burning.” Daniel wrinkled his nose and sat down beside Lewis. Sebastian hoped that the others could not notice his face pinking up. Luckily for him, Lewis was too busy being bemused by the friendly new face that had appeared. Daniel noticed the new man and turned to him. “The name’s Ricciardo. Daniel Ricciardo. But my friends call me Dan!” 

Sebastian resisted the urge to roll his eyes at potentially the cheesiest introduction he had seen anyone make, let alone pull off. Lewis shook his head at Daniel, still slightly bemused, before introducing himself. “Lewis. Nice to meet you Dan.” 

Daniel nodded, acknowledging that yes it was nice to meet him, and Sebastian allowed himself to roll his eyes this time - albeit discreetly. He didn’t know if he admired the other man’s confidence or if he found the other man arrogant. One thing was for sure, he had no idea how he was going to be able to work with this man for the next few weeks. Sebastian had hoped that he would be able to ignore the events of the day before and pretend that it hadn’t happened. But for some reason as soon as Jenson had even brought up his name, let alone when he entered the staffroom, Sebastian could feel the embarrassment taking over. 

“Good to see ya again Seb.” Daniel interrupted Sebastian’s train of thought. “How’s it going?” Sebastian tried to force out a small smile and nodded at the other man. Much to Jenson and Lewis’ amusement he was trying and struggling to look the other man in the eye. 

“Hi…it’s uh going well?” Sebastian managed to mumble, cursing his awkwardness. _For god’s sake. He is just another colleague. Get a grip_. His response further provoked amused looks in his friends eyes, and Lewis shot him an intrigued look. This was not the usual calm and confident Sebastian that they knew. 

Jenson decided to step in and put Sebastian out of his misery. “Hey Dan, let’s go and get your contract all sorted out before your shift. Did you bring your ID and passport?” Daniel got up and grabbed his scanned documents from his bag. As Jenson started to get up to head to the staffroom he stopped to give Sebastian’s arm a small squeeze in sympathy. Sebastian felt his face go even pinker. As soon as Jenson and Daniel left the room he slumped over the table, his head buried in his forearms.

“Uh, did I miss something Seb?” Lewis was incredulous, his usually confident friend groaning into his arms - embarrassed and deflated. Lewis had known Sebastian for three and a half years at this point and had never seen his friend act like this. 

Sebastian sheepishly resurfaced from where his head was resting on the table. He turned to his friend and explained the whole ordeal and how mortified he felt. Lewis listened attentively, even more bewildered by the situation than he had been before. To Lewis it sounded like a simple clumsy incident, something that Sebastian would usually laugh off on the rare occasion they even happened to him. 

“Seb, I really think you’re overthinking this one. So you had a shit day? It happens, man! It was an honest accident, you’re being _way_ too harsh on yourself over this.” Lewis tried to comfort his friend, who was obviously distressed by the whole incident. He stopped Sebastian before he tried to argue back. “Seriously man, you gotta just take a deep breath and forget about it. You’re making it into a bigger deal than it is, alright mate?” 

Sebastian nodded. He knew Lewis was right and that he had spun himself into a mess over what he would usually find an amusing story to tell. He couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was about this situation that was different - ignoring the little voice in the back of his head telling him that he knew exactly what was different. He exhaled, letting all of his pent up frustration and shame out. Thank god Lewis had some sense, because he sure didn’t. 

They both looked at the clock and got up from the staffroom table, Lewis gently patting Sebastian’s shoulder as he laughed at his friend. They had about five minutes before their shift started. Sebastian grimaced at this own stupidity, as they left the staffroom and walked down the stairs to the main shop floor. They turned the corner into the opening of the women’s stockroom, put their water bottles down, and grabbed a tablet each. They had a quick look at their targets written on the wall and grinned at each other. Game on.

Sebastian and Lewis stepped back out to the quiet shop floor and wandered over to Esteban. The younger man beamed at the both of them, happy to have company after a fairly boring morning. “Salut! Looks like the dream team is back together again, huh?” Esteban’s eyes sparkled as he greeted his colleagues. 

Sebastian grinned back at Esteban, finding his positive energy and grin contagious. Esteban had a quiet optimism to him and he always had a knack for putting people at ease, Sebastian was grateful that they would be working part of the same shift together. 

“Salut Este, did you miss us?” Sebastian smiled at the taller man. It had been a while since the three of them had worked a shift together. “Hell yeah. I have had too many shifts with Aussie Grump. I have forgotten what this place is like in colour.” Lewis almost snorted at Esteban’s nickname for their colleague Mark and Esteban gave Sebastian a wry smile. Sebastian giggled to himself. 

Before they could continue any further Daniel walked down the stairs to join them. Sebastian shot the other two a look, as he noticed Daniel approaching, and they quietened down. The three men felt slightly guilty about trashing their colleague. Sebastian felt particularly guilty, he was never one for drama, and he didn’t particularly want to influence Daniel’s feelings towards Mark before having worked with him. Daniel raised an eyebrow at the three guilty looking men as he approached, feeling the atmosphere shift. 

“Howdy lads, what’s going on?” The Australian asked, gliding over the words, flashing his trademark crooked grin at them. “Howdy? What are you a cowboy?” Esteban cocked his head at the older man, his tone half mocking. 

Daniel’s grin grew. “Maybe I am, what’s it to you?” His eyes sparkled at the taller Frenchman, Esteban shook his head with a giggle. So far, his brief introduction to Daniel had been interesting and he couldn’t help but gravitate towards the Australian. 

Sebastian was having similar thoughts to Esteban, as he watched the two giggle and joke around. He was trying to not go too pink, or study Daniel too hard, and he wasn’t exactly sure why he was acting so weird. He was really going to have to snap out of it. If Daniel didn’t already think he was a loser then he definitely would if Sebastian kept this behaviour up. He tried to ignore the way Lewis was sneaking him curious looks and the weird pang in his stomach he had watching Daniel and Esteban joking around.

“…What do you think Seb?” Sebastian was dragged from his thoughts by a strong hand grabbing his right shoulder. He looked up slightly to see Daniel grinning, a tanned arm now resting along the Germans shoulder. His throat had gone dry and try as he might he could not form any kind of coherent sentence. “Huh?” 

Daniel smiled down at him, getting used to the other man’s quirks. “I was just saying to Este and Lewis that you and I are gonna make a great team, and they better watch out.” Sebastian smiled weakly at his friends and Daniel, not quite sure what to say or think. He felt like a deer in headlights, frozen as his colleague gave his shoulder a little squeeze. _What the fuck is wrong with you Sebastian??_

Sebastian sighed in relief when he spotted Jenson coming out of the men’s stockroom and Daniel’s arm snaked off of his shoulder. “Working hard or hardly working guys?” Esteban and Sebastian audibly groaned in reaction to Jenson’s quip, while Lewis rolled his eyes and Daniel snorted with laughter. 

“We are flooded with customers here boss.” Esteban pointed towards the empty shop floor. Jenson smiled, shaking his head. “ _Sure_. Well, how about we get down to some real work?” His question was rhetorical but he still paused for dramatic effect, which led Sebastian to roll his eyes at Jenson. 

“Esteban, we had a pretty big delivery this morning so I would like it if you could please take up stockroom and running duties for the rest of your shift.” Esteban faked a groan, as he grabbed his tablet and started walking away towards the women’s stockroom. “Always so dramatic Este. _”_ Sebastian commented, as Esteban walked away flashing a toothy grin.

“Alright, you three are going to be looking after the shop floor today. Lewis if you could work on men’s please.” Lewis nodded and wandered off to greet the customers milling in the men’s section. 

“Seb, if you and Dan can work on women’s. Dan, follow Seb’s lead - he’s one of the best we have.” Jenson made sure to say the last bit a little louder so Lewis could hear him. Lewis turned back towards them and raised his eyebrows: _challenge accepted._

 _“_ I’ll be upstairs if you guys need me. Play nice!” Jenson grinned before he disappeared with a wink up the stairs. Leaving Sebastian and Daniel standing alone on the shop floor. _Just act normal, focus on work, pretend like nothing happened._ Sebastian scratched the back of his neck for a second, praying he could act at least slightly competent and tried to bury his embarrassment deep. 

Sebastian turned to Daniel, suddenly in work mode. “Okay, you’re going to need a tablet. We use these to help us remember all the shoes that the customer wants and what sizes they need as well. It’s also how we can tell the runner what shoes we need brought up when it gets seriously busy.” Sebastian explained, leading Daniel to the alcove at the start of the women’s stockroom. He gestured to the table to the left of the entrance, tucked into the corner, stacked with tablets and chargers. “It’s the first thing you want to get before you start your shift and drop it back here when you finish your shift. Make sense?” 

Sebastian looked at Daniel who had already picked up a tablet but was having difficulty getting it to turn on. Sebastian sighed and took the tablet off his coworker, they were slightly older models and there was a knack to making sure it was working. He put the pin in and handed it back to Daniel who was grinning. “Ah, you’re the tablet whisperer! Now I know why Jenson said you’re the best.” 

Sebastian tried to ignore the comment but he could feel his cheeks flush a little and he smiled, catching Daniel’s eye. Sebastian quickly changed the subject and showed Daniel where he could find his daily and weekly targets. He didn’t want to break the momentum of confidence he had. He knew his job. He was good at his job. 

Satisfied they had covered what they needed to, Sebastian led them back out to the shop floor. He gave Daniel a quick tour of the way the shoes were displayed in the women’s section, split into their categories: smart shoes; party shoes; boots; trainers; shoes for support; and, finally fashion shoes. He showed Daniel how all the shoes had labels with their names on them so they could find them easily. 

Daniel followed Sebastian around the shop floor, listening intently, enjoying how confident the other man sounded. A few customers walked into the shop and Daniel watched as Sebastian greeted them with a smile, oozing charm and confidence. Sebastian was in his element and he was thriving. “It’s important to greet them and then give them their space, otherwise they’ll feel pressured and we don’t want to scare them off.” Daniel nodded, making a mental note, enjoying seeing Sebastian work. 

The two of them worked together to serve the customers with Sebastian taking the lead talking to the customer and Daniel navigating the tablet to order shoes for Esteban to run up to them. They hung back while the customer was trying the shoes on and Sebastian gave Daniel some advice about the right questions to ask the customer and how to maximise the sale. It turned out these particular customers were quite an easy sale and before long Sebastian was at the till, demonstrating to Daniel how to ring the shoes up. 

The two men worked together like this until lunch, with Daniel as Sebastian’s shadow. Sebastian took the lead in talking to the first few customers, while Daniel became familiar with the tablet and finding the shoes. After about three or so customers Daniel started serving customers on his own, while Sebastian observed and helped out when he was needed. 

On the few occasions Sebastian got pulled away to his own set of customers he found himself sneaking looks at his colleague to see how he was doing. He knew that Daniel would be more than fine interacting with customers and he got the hang of things quickly. Despite all of this Sebastian found himself watching Daniel work. Taking in the way Daniel made all of the customers he served feel like old friends. Observing the way that the customers vied for his compliments and approval. Sebastian shook his head when one customer decided to buy two pairs of shoes just because Daniel said the colour complimented their eyes. 

Lewis checked their productivity just before Daniel went on his lunch break and Daniel was quietly smug to see he was second, trailing Lewis by £5. He had practically bounced up the stairs to the staffroom when it was his turn for a lunch break. Lewis and Sebastian were left looking after a fairly empty shop floor, standing by the tills. 

“See I told you it would be okay!” Lewis nudged Sebastian in the ribs, earning him a groan from Sebastian. 

“I suppose. He’s a pretty quick learner, looks like we’re going to have some good competition on our hands.” Sebastian smiled at his friend, knowing how competitive the two of them were it was going to be interesting. 

“Mark certainly won’t like that.” Sebastian and Lewis rolled their eyes almost in sync with each other at the mention of their colleague. _Thank God he was not working today._ “Maybe he would give Daniel a pass, they are both Australian after all.” Sebastian suggested briefly, before they both exchanged a look that said _fat chance._

_******************_

If the morning had been busy by mid week standards, the afternoon was glacial. Sebastian and Lewis had enjoyed their lunch break together watching videos of other people doing silly things. Sebastian didn’t really care for finding those sorts of things himself but Lewis always had about ten different videos queued up ready to show him. 

They had giggled their way through lunch and by the time they went back downstairs for the rest of their shift they were beaming. Daniel and Jamie were wandering around the shop trying to look busy when Sebastian and Lewis jumped down the stairs, giggling softly to themselves. Deep in reminiscing about some of the more ridiculous things that had happened at the shop. 

Daniel couldn’t help but notice how at ease Sebastian was with Lewis. He noted the casual way Sebastian put his hand on Lewis’ forearm and the way that his cheeks seemed to fill up when he smiled, enchanting Daniel with pearly white teeth. He let himself wonder what it would feel like to be the one making him smile like that. He was supposed to be putting shoes away but he couldn’t help sneak glances at Sebastian. Observing the relaxed way Sebastian would run his hands through his hair when he was thinking. He watched as Sebastian’s tongue lazily licked his lips in between sentences and Daniel tried to ignore how enticing that action was. How enticing Sebastian was.

“What are you looking at?” Daniel was so deep in thought that he dropped the shoes he was holding, sending the four shoes crashing to the floor. _Bugger get it together Dan._ Jamie stood beside him amused, as she dropped down to help him pick up his mess. 

“Ehm,” Daniel had to clear his throat, trying to ignore the way his cheeks had now lit up - red hot with embarrassment. “Just looking at the poster, just thought it looked a little crooked but I guess not.” He could hear himself rambling and from Jamie’s continued look of amusement he knew she wasn’t buying his lame excuse. 

“Don't worry, I won’t tell.” Jamie muttered, almost to herself and then gave Daniel a little wink before she grabbed the shoes from him and put them on the shelves. Daniel was left a little stunned as Jamie wandered over to greet a customer. It wasn’t usually like him to act this way. Daniel wasn’t a shy person, he was the life of the party. He wasn’t the stand-around-and-stare-from-afar kind of guy. He was a go out and get what you want person. But there was something about his German coworker that made him stop. Something that made him overcompensate, that made him want to get to know Sebastian; a need to make him smile at him in the same way he had smiled at Lewis. There was one thing Daniel did know: Sebastian was stuck in his head and under his skin. 

The next two hours passed with no more than fifteen customers and they knew they were in for a slow end to the day. Even without Esteban, leaving the others to collect their own shoes from the stockroom, the shift was dragging. The four of them scrabbled for any jobs they could find. Jamie set off to dust the shelves and displays in the men’s section. Lewis was in the middle of retying the men’s shoelaces for the third time that shift. Leaving Sebastian and Daniel to tackle the women’s section. 

The two went to work quietly, with Sebastian dusting the shelves and Daniel sorting out the shoes on display. A few quiet moments passed and Daniel’s urge to break any silence that lapse kicked in. “Hey Seb, so what brings you to these neck of the woods?” 

Sebastian shot Daniel a questioning look and raised his eyebrow before he answered. “I work here.” Sebastian instantly regretted his response to Daniel. _Good going Sebastian._ Daniel just laughed, shaking his head - he felt like an idiot for the way he had phrased the question and thought his colleague was trying to make a point. “Well, yeah I know that. But I mean like how did you start working here?” Daniel hoped that this time his intentions to know more about the man beside him would be clearer. He wanted to know who he was dealing with. 

Sebastian stopped dusting the shelves in front of him and sat back on his heels, scratching his head, perplexed. He toyed with the idea of telling Daniel exactly how he got here, the different situations that had stacked up so perfectly to help explode his old life. He thought better of it, it was too heavy for a second shift. He elected instead to use his favoured euphemistic response to that question. 

“I needed a change, something different. Somewhere that wasn’t Germany. I sort of know Britta from way back and…” Sebastian trailed off, almost like he was grappling with sharing something else with Daniel, before he thought better of it and continued. “..So here I am. It’s a nice place to work and I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.” 

Daniel stood looking at Sebastian wondering if he had said something wrong or asked the wrong question. As soon as Sebastian had started speaking his interest was piqued and he wanted to know more. Sebastian chewed on his lip for a moment, he was famously a pretty private person but he wasn't entirely sure why he was being so awkward. Every time Daniel even looked his way he felt like he was exposed, laid bare in his soft glances, and he had already felt like he had shared too much. 

Sebastian cleared his throat and broke the silence again. Daniel hoped Sebastian would share something with him, maybe elaborate on the Germany situation, or any fleeting thought that would give him a glimpse into Sebastian’s world. “So, do you want to clean the mirrors or shall I?” 

Daniel hoped his face hadn’t fallen too much at Sebastian steering the conversation firmly back towards work. Sebastian had barely noticed, deciding to throw himself back into dusting the shelves while Daniel moved to clean the mirrors. He felt more comfortable keeping the conversation about work, it was easier to control. Easier for Sebastian to feel less like a complete and utter failure. Easier for Sebastian to give the illusion that he had his life somewhat together. For some reason, it was important to Sebastian that Daniel saw him like this and he already felt like enough of an embarrassment without adding to that. 

The two men continued to work quietly to tidy the women’s section until their jobs were finished and rejoined Lewis and Jamie at the till. They had about 30 minutes before the end of their shift and they had exhausted all of the potential jobs they could do. Michael and Jenson had similarly run out of tasks to busy themselves with and had joined the quartet downstairs. 

The group hung around the tills, spaced out enough so if customers came in it wasn’t off-putting. Jamie broke the tired silence. “So Dan, what brings you to England?” 

“Your famous good weather!” Daniel chuckled, beaming while the others groaned. “Nah seriously, I guess I was just looking for something new. I needed a bit of a change and felt like this was as good a place as any to do that. Plus, Michael basically begged me to come.” Daniel had chosen his words carefully, wanting to signal to Sebastian that he had also come here for a fresh start. Sebastian, however, only felt his ears sting as his own words were partially echoed back to him and he forced a smile.

“Oi mate, I did not quite beg you! I just suggested it would be a good idea.” Michael interjected, jokingly ruffling his friend’s hair. Daniel hummed at him as if to say, _sure you keep telling yourself that buddy._

“So what did you do before?” Now it was Jenson’s turn to be nosy, all of their colleagues wanting to find out more about their shiny new colleague. Sebastian tried to keep himself occupied by scrolling through his tablet. Worried that if he looked at Daniel he would go lobster red again. 

Daniel scratched the back of his neck with one hand, looking uncharacteristically bashful, not wanting his new colleagues to think he was boasting. Michael was grinning at him, almost laughing at his friend. “I was a racing driver.” 

Sebastian’s eyes widened, and he could feel his heart start pounding in his chest. Thankfully, his colleagues were too busy staring at Daniel in awe at his announcement. Michael giggling, as Daniel got the usual reaction he always did when he announced he was a driver. Sebastian gripped the side of the till, as he tried to calm his breathing and not draw too much attention to himself. Jenson and Lewis both caught his eye momentarily to see if he was okay, and he managed to shoot them a look calm enough to not worry his friends too much. 

He could see Daniel continuing to talk animatedly about his racing career while the others listened attentively. But he was too busy trying to quiet the blood currently pounding in his head. He glared at his hands as they threatened to give him away by shaking. _Damnit._ He hoped his colleagues just thought he was listening and not that he was trying to stave off panic. He could feel the mix of panic and unease swirling around in his stomach and reaching up into his head. Some things he just wished he could banish to the past and be done with it. 

He barely even noticed Jenson coming closer to the till and discreetly placing his hand on Sebastian’s back, drawing circles to try and help him calm down. He gave his friend a quick look, as if to say _is it that obvious?_ Jenson reassuringly murmured his response to Sebastian as he pretended to reach down to the tablet to look at something, “No, I just know you too well.” The two men stood like that for a few more minutes. Jenson’s hand a calming and grounding presence for Sebastian who was starting to be able to fight through the panic; shutting his eyes every so he could focus on breathing. 

By the time Sebastian had collected his thoughts and calmed down the conversation had moved on. Jenson gave his shoulder a quick squeeze before he moved back towards his colleagues. Sebastian tuned in again to the group, who were having a lively conversation about music. Jamie and Daniel were intensely debating which DJs were the best from the last fifteen years, while the other three were watching amused. Lewis and Michael chatted amongst themselves, looking like they were placing bets on who would break first. Jenson was keeping one eye on the door and one eye on his watch, to make sure they finished on time. Sebastian was happy to quietly watch, as he caught his breath and hoped he hadn’t brought too much attention to himself. 

They finished the rest of their shift having to serve only three more customers with the rest of the time being filled by Daniel and Michael cracking jokes. Jamie, Lewis and Jenson all laughing along, captivated by the two Australian’s and their dynamic energy. Sebastian kept to himself, wondering what exactly the story between the two was. Not that it really mattered to Sebastian, he told himself he was just curious. 

Before Sebastian had a chance to overthink himself into a blushing mess again Jenson threw the shop keys at him. Sebastian caught the keys and checked his watch: 6pm. The others let out a small cheer, as they gathered up their tablets to return them to the stockroom and Sebastian locked the shop doors. Incredibly they had managed to avoid any last minute shoppers, which nobody was more grateful than Sebastian for. He was ready to finish for the day - to put another round of embarrassing interactions to bed. 

They all made their way up the stairs to the staffroom. Daniel and Michael racing everyone through the stockroom. Jamie, Lewis and Jenson rolling their eyes and shouting children at them as Sebastian brought up the rear. They were all occupied with small talk about their evenings and hoping the traffic wouldn’t be too bad. Sebastian was caught up chatting to Jenson and Lewis about their weekend plans when they were interrupted by Michael. 

“Blimey mate, that’s a shiner! What happened to you?” Sebastian was confused for a second, until he saw that Michael was pointing to his forehead and the shiny bruise occupying the space. Sebastian groaned. He had almost forgotten he was currently flag posting one of his more embarrassing moments. He shifted awkwardly on his feet, trying to think of the best way to phrase the incident or come up with a convincing lie. Nothing was exactly springing to his mind so he stood there umming and ahing - hoping something would come out or someone would distract Michael. 

“Seb won a fight yesterday. You should’ve seen the other guy!” Daniel confidently answered his friend, punctuating it with a wink at Sebastian. Sebastian froze, almost stunned by the wink and the cheeky grin that accompanied it. The wink and grin that said _I’ll keep your secret._ Sebastian’s mind went into overdrive, as an amused Michael accepted Daniel’s explanation. Was he amused at Daniel’s explanation or Sebastian’s current reaction? And why was Daniel defending him? He didn’t usually care about what Michael thought of him, they were friendly enough, so why was he so hesitant to say he had gotten distracted and taken a shoe to the head? 

Even when the others started filing out of the staffroom to leave for the day Sebastian stood stuck to the spot. It took an entertained Lewis shouting at Sebastian for him to actually snap out of it and follow the others. They filed out of the shop and said their goodbyes, congratulating themselves for getting through another day in retail. Even as Sebastian was walking alone back to his car, the wink was seared into his mind. The idea that he shared something unspoken with Daniel was exciting to him in some way, although he wasn’t quite sure why. 

Sebastian didn’t quite know what to make of Daniel, or why he couldn’t get it together around Daniel. The only thing he did know was that there was just something about Daniel that threw him off balance. 


End file.
